[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8942-S8943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            NATIONAL TESTING

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I understand we are not yet on the 
appropriations bill today. It has not been formally called up. We have 
a number of issues in the appropriations bill that is now before the 
Senate, and I know the majority leader and others would like to 
complete it soon. I want to describe one of them that I think is very 
important that I hope will get resolved today. That is the issue that 
was raised last week on the subject of national testing with respect to 
achievement levels at various grades in our schools.

  President Clinton has suggested, and others have called for some kind 
of national testing system by which we can evaluate at the fourth grade 
level whether children are able to read sufficiently and at the eighth 
grade level whether they have sufficient capabilities in mathematics, 
because those are the benchmarks in the education system that allow you 
to proceed and succeed. If you are not able to read sufficiently in 
fourth grade, you are not going to do well beyond that. If you don't 
have a basic grasp of the concept of mathematics by the eighth grade, 
you are not going to do well beyond that. The question is, What are we 
getting for our education dollars? We spend a substantial amount of 
money in this country on elementary and secondary education. What are 
we getting for it?
  The proposal is a proposal that says, let us measure that, let us 
evaluate that, student to student, school to

[[Page S8943]]

school, State to State, so that we know what we are getting out of our 
education system. There isn't a more important subject, in my judgment, 
for this country's future than the subject of education. Is our 
education system a good one? Does it work? Does it prepare our country 
for the future?
  Benjamin Franklin once said that if you invest your purse in your 
head, no one will ever take your purse from you. His point was that, if 
you invest in education, nobody can ever take from you what you have 
achieved yourself. That is a very important point. That is why it is so 
important for our country to make sure that we have an education system 
that works.
  Although reading is the foundation for virtually all other learning 
in our country, it is estimated that 40 percent of America's fourth 
graders cannot read at a basic level. Likewise, nearly 40 percent of 
eighth graders in our country are not achieving at a basic level, and 
76 percent are not achieving at a proficient level. According to a 
recently released Third International Math and Science Study, 55 
percent of U.S. eighth graders score below the international average in 
math.
  Now, the point about national testing is not to suggest in any way 
that the Federal Government try to run the local school systems. School 
systems ought to be run locally. They are now and they will be in the 
future. But we ought to give parents information about how their 
students and schools in our States are doing, comparing them student to 
student and school to school and State to State. We simply don't have 
that capability. Providing parents with that information, through a 
national testing program, will be an important step in trying to 
evaluate where we are in the educational system and then what we need 
to do to strengthen and improve it.
  Again, this is a proposal that says, let us try to evaluate across 
this country how our children are doing in reading at the fourth grade 
level and how our children are doing in mathematics at the eighth grade 
level. Giving parents that information will be enormously beneficial. I 
have two children in public schools this morning. They are the most 
wonderful young children that live in this country--as all parents feel 
about their children. I want them to have the finest education 
available to them. They are in public school. I like their teachers, I 
respect their school. But I happen to believe that, to the extent that 
we can improve this country's educational system, we will do that if we 
arm parents with more and more information about how the system does, 
how the schools are doing, how the teachers are doing, and how our 
students are doing.
  There are three things that will work to improve education in this 
country, and all three are necessary in order for the educational 
system to work well. First is a student that is willing to learn. Secod 
is a teacher that knows how to teach. And third is a parent that is 
involved in their student's education. The failure to have any one of 
the three means we don't do nearly as well as we can.
  Now, the proposal for a national testing program has substantial 
support. Polls have shown that 77 percent of the American people 
support national standards for measuring the academic performance of 
schools. It has substantial support from leaders all across this 
country, national business leaders like the National Chamber of 
Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Alliance of Business, 
and it is clear to them that our ability to succeed in the long term 
and compete in the long term with other countries rests in our ability 
to provide an educational system that educates our children 
sufficiently so that we do succeed and prevail.
  Here is the testimony from the business leaders in America. Let me 
read a couple of the pieces of testimony. This is Jim Barksdale, the 
CEO of Netscape Communications, and L. John Doerr, a partner in the 
firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers, on behalf of 240 
technology industry leaders in a bipartisan call for national education 
standards in reading and math:

       Every State should adopt high national standards, and by 
     1999, every State should test every fourth grader in reading 
     and eighth grader in math to make sure these standards are 
     met. President Clinton's national testing initiative offers a 
     new opportunity to widely accept national benchmarks in 
     reading and math against which States, school districts, 
     and parents can judge student performance.
  Now, the proposal is completely voluntary. No student is required to 
take tests. Any student can opt out, any school can opt out, any State 
can opt out--a completely voluntary proposal. Then we had some 
amendments offered in the other body, the House of Representatives, an 
initiative, and some amendments here in the Senate, which I think will 
be withdrawn, that would prohibit any kind of national testing. So 
there has been discussion back and forth in recent days about, should 
we prohibit any kind of national testing? I think the answer to that 
should be no.
  We are proposing that the National Assessment Governing Board, called 
NAGB--a bipartisan, independent board--will oversee and ensure the 
integrity of these national tests. NAGB was established by Congress in 
1989 to independently formulate policy guidelines for the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress.
  I don't have any interest, again, in having the National or the 
Federal Government decide that we are going to, in any way, impose 
restrictions or arbitrary requirements on school districts across this 
country. That is not my interest. It is my interest to provide some 
leadership to see if we can't describe some kind of national 
achievement levels which we aspire to reach as a country.
  It is interesting. You go on a radio show, talk radio, these days--
and it has been that way for some years now--and somebody calls in and 
talks about how any effort by anybody to test some sort of achievement 
level is some intrusive encroachment on education. I don't think that 
at all. As much as we spend on education, we ought to try to find out 
what we are getting for all of this. Where are we succeeding and where 
are we failing? That is what this initiative is all about. It is not an 
attempt to eclipse the powers, rights, or interests of local school 
boards. It is an attempt to see if we can't, all across this country, 
give parents more information about what they are getting for their 
education dollar and give school administrators and give other 
administrators who are interested in this an evaluation of where we are 
with respect to reading at the fourth grade level and mathematics at 
the eighth grade level, to see whether we are reaching the goals that 
we aspire to reach as a country. If we can't take that first baby step, 
if we don't have the opportunity or courage to take that step, then we 
are not in any way going to achieve the goals we have for this 
country's education in the years ahead.
  I thought this was going to be resolved last week, and I understand 
it is still ricocheting around the Chamber. If it's not resolved, I am 
inclined to offer a second-degree amendment to one of the first degrees 
that has been noticed, which would simply say that the National 
Assessment Governing Board would be the board that would be empowered 
to help provide this national testing. I want us to have an affirmative 
discussion and decision on this. I think that will be a very important 
thing for the Senate to say with respect to this appropriations bill 
because it is likely the appropriations bill coming to conference from 
the House side will say, in a negative way, that they don't want 
anything to do with this kind of national testing.
  So I came to the floor today to say that I thought this had been 
resolved last week, and it has not been. If it is not resolved soon, I 
would like to offer an amendment. Senator Bingaman has one noticed. If 
that is not offered, I will probably offer a second degree, and we 
should have a vote on this issue. This country can do better in 
education. One way to do that is to aspire to have a national 
evaluation of what we are getting and what our performance levels are 
at the fourth grade level for reading and at the eighth grade level for 
mathematics.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak 
for up to 10 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  
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